Partying in the Ruins
November 25-28, 2017
Neither of us could really describe what our preconceived notion of Budapest was, but it certainly wasn't what we found when we got there. Though the city lies decidedly east of what is traditionally considered "Western Europe," we were surprised to find that Budapest seemed even more westernized than Berlin. The streets were filled with hip, modern bars and restaurants, sleekly styled with a decidedly young vibe. There were craft beers and artisanal burgers on virtually every street. On first glance, Budapest seemed like the Portland, OR of Eastern Europe.
Budapest has always come up in conversations with travelers of places they love, and it's easy to see why. The city is filled with gorgeous, ornate buildings that survived the war, with a castle overlooking the Danube and city below. Part of the EU but not using the Euro currency, it is cheap to eat and drink well, and you can travel comfortably and easily using the top-notch metro system. We were finally drawn to Budapest by the promise of excellent Christmas markets, and were eager to see how the city differed from its Slovakian neighbor up the river, which we had visited exactly one year before for the same reason.
One of the city's main draws is renovated derelict buildings called "Ruin Bars." The idea to take these unused, large spaces and convert them into viable nightlife zones started in the early 2000s, and now they have become the icon of the Budapest bar scene. We perused a handful of online lists that ranked and described the various Ruin Bars throughout town before deciding on one for dinner that was both a bar and restaurant in the old Jewish quarter, fittingly called Mazel Tov.
This upscale eatery took a huge open courtyard inside a classic brick building and made the space sublime, with vines draping down the walls, lights suspended from the glass ceiling, and white wood door frames to offset the tan bricks. Serving classic Israeli cuisine as well as some fusion dishes, everything on the menu at Mazel Tov sounded amazing, and it was hard to choose. We opted for grilled cauliflower with tahini and pomegranate, smoky eggplant salad with yogurt, sumac, and fresh cilantro, labane with fresh grilled pita, and cilantro cumin lamb sausage with carrot jam and grilled vegetables. The food was bright and flavorful and incredibly satisfying, and the ambiance, with lights sparkling in the air below the exposed darkness of the night sky, added an extra element of awe.
The owners of Mazel Tov took an old, run-down building and turned it into something chic and stylish. The owners of the original Ruin Bar, Szimpla Kert, had a much different approach. The inside of this Ruin Bar is a feast for the senses: an overload of lights, colors, textures, and aesthetics, all smashed together into a massive, pulsating organism. The building is huge, and inside of the "bar" there are actually a large number of different bars, most with different themes. Each room also has a distinctively different style, though most of them appear like the furniture was haphazardly cobbled together after the apocalypse, and these starkly mismatched items were all that remained of the world's chairs, tables, and wall decorations. There was an outdoor area with a silent Hungarian film projected onto the brick wall; a band in a side room playing four-bar blues songs and trying their best to imitate an American singing drawl; a craft beer area set up like a laboratory; a wine bar; a hookah bar; an area that looked like a 1970s living room that had been overtaken by graffiti. At capacity, the place could hold thousands of people. On Saturday night it was free to enter and large beers cost €2. It was quite the spectacle.
There are two main Christmas markets in Budapest, with many smaller groupings of stalls spaced between them selling arts and crafts, mulled wine, and treats. We started with the market in Vorosmarty Square, and came hungry. The center of the market was nothing but food stalls, offering an impressively varied selection of meats, stews, veggies, and wines. There were piles of huge sausages, whole geese legs, pork knuckles, and what seemed like half a dozen types of goulash served in sourdough bread bowls. After taking a lap, we decided to get some venison and juniberry sausage with mustard and bread, and a couple glasses of mulled red wine. Though it was enough food that we probably didn't need any more just then, we wanted it, so we made our way to the stand selling what looked like the best version of the Hungarian holiday classic Langos. This deep-fried dough is similar to Native American fry bread, and comes with a variety of savory meat and sauce toppings. We chose the traditional sour cream and cheese version, and dug in while it was still hot enough to singe our fingers. Though delicious, Langos are a heart attack, and even split between the two of us it nestled into our tums like a rock and made us sluggish for the rest of the day.
We'd read online that the other market in front of St. Stephen's Basilica was supposed to be superior, but that didn't turn out to be the case. The crafts for sale were a bit too tailored for moms, and there wasn't much we couldn't find and ignore at the markets in Berlin. We were only able to find one gift between the two markets, which was better than nothing, but we'd found quite a few great gifts in the markets in Bratislava the year before. Though it wasn't a letdown, the excellence of Budapest's Christmas markets did not quite live up to the hype. We tried a burger from a food cart for dinner, than stupidly settled for some sub-par Thai food instead of trying harder. Tired and unmotivated, we went back to our cute Airbnb loft apartment, named "the Cider Maker's Home," and drank some of the surprisingly good cider the home's owner had made.
The weather had been cold and gray, and we were really feeling the first thorough chill of winter, thanks in part to both of us having under-packed warm clothing like gloves and thermals. The following morning, it was nice to find that the sun was out and the sky was blue, and that even though it was by no means warm, the sunshine made the cold day much more bearable. We headed into the downtown area to meet up with our friend Steve, who had moved to Budapest from Portland a few months before. He suggested we meet at the Central Café, an iconic coffee shop with a storied history in the city.
We always prefer having a local guide, and Steve was quick to fill us in on how Budapest for travelers compares to Budapest for locals. Though the city is filled with new, hip businesses, at about €650 monthly, the average salary in the city is startlingly low, and many people are really struggling to get by. The corrupt, conservative government is a constant source of frustration, and the lack of positive change seen by the country in recent years has rendered the average citizen of Budapest surly and negative. The police can and will harass you, and there's nothing you can do about it when they do. Most bright, well-educated Hungarians leave the country for places where they can earn a better living, though not to the point where there isn't still youth culture in the capital city. Budapest has a rich history of fighting fascist regimes, and the café we met up was a historic meeting spot for European revolutionaries, artists, and thinkers.
The food at the Central was fantastic. Kirb got their signature breakfast, which included veal pâté, smoked duck breast, caramelized onions, greaves spread (which is basically bacon paste), and a spicy cheese spread called liptauer. On Steve's recommendation, Mazz got a smoked salmon rilette with avocado spread and horseradish butter. We left for a day of sightseeing perfectly full, more educated, and pleased with our life choices.
We took off on foot across the downtown area to the river, but were slowed by police barricades blocking off huge areas of the city due to the visiting Chinese president. Eventually we were able to cross the Danube over the Elizabeth Bridge, which was covered from end to end with flags from countries across the world. On the other side of the river is Buda Castle, which houses the National Art Gallery and has served as the palace for kings of Hungary throughout history. Steve explained that the current prime minister has plans of living in the palace, and was doing some serious redecorating, building a massive balcony addition that required a crane that was presently hovering over the complex. We made our way from end to end of the grounds, checking out the baroque statues and enjoying the view of the city as the light began to turn pink. We finished our tour of the Buda side of the river by settling into a Belgian pub for some strong, tasty beers.
Steve had to work that evening, but he sent us on with a recommendation of where to get some traditional Hungarian fare for dinner. We went to Busó Bistro with a list of handpicked items from Steve, including a fisherman's stew called Halászlé and chicken paprika served over fresh gnocchi. The food was hearty and satisfying, the sort of comforting fare that seems particularly good on cold nights after long days spent outside.
We'd been trying for years to see a band we both like called Together Pangea, but they always came to Seattle, and then Berlin, while we were busy or out of town. It seemed like they were once again coming to our city while we were away, but when we learned they were coming to Budapest only a few days after Berlin, we lengthened our trip so we could finally make it to their show. Though not quite a "friend band," Kirb was friendly with a few of the band members. He had spent a decent amount of time hanging out with them through mutual friends in California when he was younger, though they hadn't seen each other in years. The band had even come up to Seattle and played a show in his living room when they were a folk band in 2006. Now they are a big enough rock and roll band to headline European tours. We listen to their records at home regularly.
Unsurprisingly, the venue Dürer Kertwas massive and eclectic, as that seemed to be the general nightlife vibe in Budapest. The hangout area was awash with vintage patterns, wallpapers, and paintings, and there was a huge outdoor area that seemed like a great place to hang out in the summer. We weren't sure what kind of a draw this smallish band from Los Angeles could pull in Hungary on a Monday night, but not only was the venue full, there were dozens of young fans screaming along to every song and dancing with glee. After the set we tried to go say hello and were cut off by a throng of girls trying to force their way into the backstage area. People mobbed the band when they came out, begging for autographs and pictures. Eventually we said our hellos and after a brief, "Wow, how strange to find you here" interaction, we caught up on the last several years at record speed.
For Kirb, who spent the majority of his 20s wishing he was doing exactly what these guys are doing, these interactions always serve as a refreshing reminder that the reality of touring is never as shiny as the allure. They'd been in Budapest twice now but never actually seen the city; every day was spent in a van, driving to a new and exciting place they wouldn't get to explore. The venues could be filled across Europe and kids could know all the words but when they got home they still needed other jobs to get by. That said, though the scale may slide, these guys were actual rock stars now, and that's not something very many people get to experience. Hungarian teenagers were asking them to autograph their bodies. They couldn't be outside for a minute without someone trying to take a picture. And as a bonus, they made it there by writing legitimately great music. It's always fun to see nice, talented people rewarded for their talents. We chatted for maybe ten minutes, and then it was time for them to load gear and get back to life the road.
There was a sandwich on the menu at Mazel Tov that we really wanted to eat, but they had already sold out the first night we were there, so we decided we probably needed to come back again for lunch. The ambiance of the place was no less magical during the day, and it was early enough that we had the place mostly to ourselves. Steve joined up with us again for our final Budapest meal - a 14-day aged pastrami sandwich on rye with Amish pickles and bourbon cocktails made with honey and ginger. The food was stellar, and it was a fitting way to finish out a fun weekend in an unexpectedly great new city.
We both wished we had come to Budapest when we were younger, in the summer, for late, warm nights partying in the Ruin Bars. We understand now why it's such a popular destination. If the economy can turn itself around, and the younger generation has reason to stay, it seems like the perfect place where an ambitious person could buy a beautiful, old space for cheap, fix it up, and turn it into something amazing for the future. Steve says he thinks about it regularly. There's a lot to love about the city, and we'd welcome any excuse to come back and see it again.